Promoting Yourself Effectively During Interviews

The belief that being interviewed is a passive role seems to be widely held and we think this idea
is not true and essentially flawed. There are ways to be proactive and
to sell yourself effectively whilst remaining in the norms of an
interview scenario. Here are some ideas to be considered:

1. You are there to sell

To promote yourself effectively, think of yourself as a high valueproduct and that your job is to sell yourself to the interviewer.
That means understanding what the interviewer thinks is the solution to
their business issue and then, to demonstrate how your product matches
with their solution-idea. Of course, one has to accept that there may
not match and that’s fine.

You may find yourself meeting the
interviewer at different points on their Decision Chain, which will
affect your approach, so let us go off on a tangent and explain what we
mean by that and why it is useful for you to identify where on the chain
you are.

The Decision Chain:

a. Acknowledgement:
There is an awareness that there is a business problem or issue that
needs solving, be it fixing, building something or exploiting an
opportunity.

b. Job Specification:
A job spec will be written answering questions such as: What skills,
experience and culture will our recruit need to solve our business
issue?

c. Searching for Options:
It is now time to consider if the recruit should be an internal
promotion, a transfer from another part of the business or someone from
outside.

d. Selection:
At this point candidates will be found and then formal interviews will
be conducted. Bear in mind that the job spec is likely to be refined and
developed as the recruitment team meet candidates. This is because
issues will be raised during interviews which make them realise
un-thought of possibilities or pulls them into a more realistic and
grounded solution. The candidate who seems to be the best fit for the
spec will be hired.

And
please note that the earlier on in the decision chain, the more likely
the interviewer may be to engaging in a collaborative discussion rather
than later on, once the view of the solution has hardened.

2. Understand the Business Issue and their Perceived Solution

In
the old model, the interviewer knows what they are looking for and
questions to ask the candidate on that basis. Then alone decide if the
candidate fits. There will have been little or no input from the
candidate in that decision. We would suggest that the candidate can
strive for a more active role in the interview. If the candidate
understands the business issue and proposed solution then they will
better able to help the interviewer get a more clear understanding of
fit. However, how does one do that without seeming to wrest control
from the interviewer and appearing to usurp their authority?

a. Read the job specification if possible. This
should give you a clear idea of what they are looking for. Remember
that the interviewer will have their own perception of the spec and if
fact, may disagree with some aspects. Furthermore, as stated before,
the job spec may have drifted from what was originally written by the
time that you are interviewed. Thus, you do need to ask them about their
perception of their current perception of the business solution during
the interview.

b. Listen carefully to the clues in the questions. Just
as in reading the question in an exam, you can see what the questioner
is looking for in your answer. The question may give clues about their
solution-idea. Remember, you can always ask them to expand on the
question so that you can give a more satisfactory answer.

c. You can always consider asking directly about what they are looking for and how the need has come about. This is a less oblique approach and may not fit with the culture of the firm/interview.

d.
Ideally, we want to develop a collaborative conversation between two
professionals about the business issue and a joint exploration of
whether or not you will fit will their perceived solution. Develop a
conversation about the industry, their business, the competition,...,
and then put this role in the context of their perceived needs.
Keywords: Who, Where, When, What, How, Elaborate, Explain, Describe,
Tell me.

3. Make the Match in their Mind

Making
the match in their mind is not easily done and does require the
interviewer to have allowed you insight into their perceived solution,
so that you know what to target. However, if you are able to understand
their thinking, you are now in a position to present your skills and
attributes in a way that matches what you have discovered.

So,
take each of the points that they have raised as requirements one by
one. Explain how you have the relevant skills, experience and attributes
to meet each requirement in turn. You can tell a story that illustrates
how what you have claimed is true. It helps if you have organised your
skills, attributes and examples into value pieces and rehearsed
deploying them prior to any meetings.

So there you have it.

You are there to sell proactively

Understand where the firm is in their Decision Chain

Understand their view of the business issue and their perception of the solution

Encourage the development of a collaborative conversation and not a one-sided interrogation

Skilfully explain and demonstrate how what you have to offer matches their perceived solution

There may not be a match with all these tips but that’s okay, right? :)

Tesla Duo is an international online recruitment platform that brings together jobseekers and recruiters. Our team is passionate about matching the right person to the right job and uses all its resources and expertise to guide you through the process.